Daily Current Affairs and GK | 6 December 2022

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

1. "India Inequality Report 2022: Digital Divide" has been released by Oxfam India.

• According to the report, women account for only one-third of internet users in India.
• As compared to men, 15% fewer women own a mobile phone, and 33% fewer use mobile internet service.
• As per the study, in the Asia-Pacific region, India has the widest gender gap in using the internet.
• Despite a significant growth rate of 13 % a year, only 31 % of the rural population uses the internet whereas 67 % of the urban population uses the internet.
• Internet penetration is highest in Maharashtra, followed by Goa and Kerala. Bihar has the lowest number of Internet users, followed by Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
• In rural areas, the tendency to use formal financial services is lowest among ST households, followed by SC households and OBC households.
• 99% of the rural population didn’t have a computer, while the urban population witnessed an increase of 7%.
• The likelihood of having access to a computer is higher in the general and OBC groups as compared to the SC and ST.
• The report has analysed the data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy’s (CMIE) household survey, held from January 2018 to December 2021.

Topic: National Appointments

2. Hansraj Ahir takes charge as chairperson of National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).

• Hansraj Gangaram Ahir belongs to state of Maharashtra.
• He had been Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers.
• He had been elected four times Member of Parliament from Chandrapur Constituency, Maharashtra.
• National Commission for Backward Classes:
  • It was established in 1993 by an act of Parliament.
  • It is a constitutional body. It is responsible for the protection and welfare of socially and educationally backward classes.
  • NCBC got constitutional status in 2018 by the 102nd Constitutional amendment. This amendment added Article 338-B in the Constitution.

Topic: Sports

3. Rudrankksh Patil has won the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) President’s Cup.

• He is an Indian shooter. He has won ISSF President’s Cup held in Cairo, Egypt.
• He defeated Danilo Sollazzo of Italy in the 10-metre rifle match by 16-8.
• Athletes from 42 nations representing 43 ISSF Member Federations from all continents participated in this competition.
• Rudrankksh Patil also won India’s first quota for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
• He won a gold in the men’s 10-metre air rifle in the ISSF Rifle-Pistol World Championships 2022. This was also held in Cairo in October this year.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Important Days

4. “International Cheetah Day” and “Wildlife Conservation Day” celebrated by National Zoological Park, New Delhi (Delhi Zoo) on 04 December in collaboration with Central Zoo Authority.

• During this, the expert talk on “Cheetah – a Keystone Species and Food Web” was given.
• The goal of the expert talk was to create the curiosity among young minds to understand the importance of Keystone species and role of Cheetah in grassland ecosystem.
• A keystone species is an organism that helps define an entire ecosystem. Without the keystone species, the ecosystem would cease to exist altogether.
• International Cheetah Day is celebrated each year on 04 December since 2010.
• Dr Lauri Marker is famous as the creator of International Cheetah Day.
• Dr Marker is the founder and executive director of Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF).
• CCF is the NGO that is helping the Indian government with Project Cheetah.
• Dr Marker chose 4 December in memory of Khayam, a Cheetah she raised as a cub at Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon during 1970s.
• Wildlife Conservation Day is also celebrated on 04 December to spread awareness about preserving the wildlife.

Topic: Committees/Commissions/Taskforces

5. Approval has been given to constitute an advisory group to streamline the development of bamboo sector.

• Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has approved the formation of an advisory group to streamline the development of the bamboo sector.
• The group has representation from various stakeholders, including academicians, researchers, innovators, progressive entrepreneurs, designers, farmer leaders, marketing experts, and policymakers.
• Inter-ministerial and public-private consultations are envisaged to improve the developmental framework of the sector through synergy among all stakeholders in the bamboo value chain.
• Restructured National Bamboo Mission was launched during 2018-19 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• It primarily focuses on the development of a complete value chain of the bamboo sector to connect producers to consumers.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

6. Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan will register only CNG and e-autos in NCR from 1 January 2023.

• The Centre's Air Quality Commission directed Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan to ensure registration of only CNG and e-autos in NCR from January 1, 2023.
• Along with this, the Center's Air Quality Commission asked Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan to phase out diesel autos by the end of 2026.
• An order was issued by the Air Quality Management Commission, in which a target has been set to run only CNG and e-autos in NCR from January 1, 2027.
• NCR includes Delhi, 14 districts of Haryana, eight districts of Uttar Pradesh, and two districts of Rajasthan.
• A program was started in Delhi in the year 1998 to convert diesel auto rickshaws to CNG.
• Although diesel autos are not currently registered in Delhi.
• The Delhi Transport Department had launched a scheme to register 4,261 e-autos in October 2021.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

7. India and Germany have signed a Migration and Mobility Agreement.

• This agreement will facilitate easier access for people to study, research and work in both countries.
• External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar and Federal Foreign Affairs Minister of Germany Annalena Baerbock met in New Delhi on 05 December 2022.
• Addressing a joint conference after the meeting, Mr. Jaishankar welcomed Germany's decision to join the India-Pacific oceans initiative.
• India announced Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) at 14th East Asia Summit (EAS) held in Bangkok, Thailand on November 4, 2019.
• IPOI envisages for collaboration under seven pillars. These pillars are given below.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

8. Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated a conference on 'Women Leading Change in Health and Science in India'.

• Dr. Bharti Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, addressed the conference.
• The conference is being organized by the Department of Biotechnology and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), in collaboration with WomenLift Health and Grand Challenges India.
• The conference highlights and promotes the importance of women’s leadership in health and science.
• BIRAC is a not-for-profit Section 8, Schedule B, Public Sector Enterprise set up by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
• The WomenLift Health conference is an initiative of Stanford University. It is organized since 2017.

Topic: State News/ Meghalaya

9. First drone station has been set up in Meghalaya to deliver drugs.

• India’s first drone station for transporting drugs has been set up at the Jengjal Subdivisional Hospital in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district.
• Meghalaya becomes the first state to begin dispatching medicines using drones.
• A Vertiplane X3 drone carried 1.5 kg of medicines to a primary health centre in 36 minutes.
• Floods and landslides frequently disrupt Meghalaya's public health supply chain.
• The drones will be used for transporting vaccines, medicines, and emergency kits.
• The drone service is a joint initiative of the Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project and Techeagle. It is funded by the World Bank.
• The drone has a payload capacity of three-five kg. The drug delivery is being handled by TechEagle, a third-party drone logistics service provider.

Topic: New Development

10. IIT Madras has developed an ‘Ocean Wave Energy Converter’ to generate electricity from sea waves.

• IIT Madras has developed a device named Sindhuja-I (Ocean Wave Energy Converter) that can generate electricity from sea waves.
• The device has successfully completed its trials during the second week of November 2022.
• This device will be deployed near the coast of Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, at a depth of 20 meters.
• This system has a floating buoy, a spar, and an electrical module. The buoy has a central hole that allows a long rod called a spar to pass through it.
• This device has been developed under the guidance Prof. Abdus Samad, faculty of IIT Madras.
• This device will help India in undertaking deep water missions and creating a Blue Economy.
• The project will help in fulfilling the objectives of the UN Ocean decade and sustainable development goals.
• India has set a target of generating 500 GW of electricity by 2030 through renewable energy.
• Seawater stores tidal, wave, and Ocean thermal energy. India has the capacity to produce 54 GW of power through seawater.

Topic: State News/ Maharashtra

11. Maharashtra becomes first state in India to have independent Department of Disabled Welfare.

• CM of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde announced creating of a separate Divyang department for the differently abled people. The first state in India to do so.
• Maharashtra government has created 2,063 posts for the new department that would be tasked with formulation of policies for the welfare of the disabled.
• The new Divyang Welfare department will be formed by clubbing the sections looking into problems of Divyang people under the Social Justice and Special Assistance department.
• At the central level, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment stimulates empowerment of the persons with disabilities.
• As per Census 2011, 2.68 crore (2.21% of the total population) people in India are divyanjans. These include persons with Visual, Hearing, Speech & Locomotive disability, Mental Retardation, Mental Illness, Multiple Disability and any other disabilities.
• The subject of "Disability" is mentioned in the State List under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

Topic: National Appointments

12. Sundararaman R becomes the new MD and CEO of BSE.

• Sundararaman Ramamurthy will replace Ashish Chauhan.
• He has earlier worked with National Stock Exchange (NSE) for nearly 20 years.
• He was instrumental in launching Bank Nifty, which is the most widely traded index on the NSE after the benchmark Nifty index.
• BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange):
  • BSE is India’s premier exchange. It is the world’s fastest Stock Exchange with a speed of 6 microseconds.
  • It is the first stock exchange to get approval from SEBI. It launched its SME platform on 13th March 2012.
  • It was established in 1875. It is also the oldest stock exchange in Asia. It is located in Mumbai.
  • BSE Chairman: S S Mundra

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

13. Around 100 million people were forcibly displaced in 2022: UNDP

• UNDP has recently released a report titled ‘Turning the tide on internal displacement: A development approach to solutions’ on 29 November 2022.
• According to the report, for the first time, around 100 million people have been forcibly displaced in 2022.
• It is the highest global figure and is more than double as compared to the 10 years ago figure.
• At the end of 2021, due to conflict, violence, disasters, and climate change, more than 59 million people have been forcibly displaced within their own country.
• In Ukraine, due to the war, more than 6.5 million people have been internally displaced.
• According to the World Bank, by 2050, around 216 million people will be displaced due to climate change.
• In 2021, the direct impact of the internal displacement cost was more than 21.5 billion dollars.
• Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and North Africa and parts of the Americas are the most affected regions by the internal displacement linked with conflicts and violence.
• Displacement affects the professional lives of persons, and around 30 per cent of people become unemployed.
• 48% of internally displaced households earn less money than they did before they were displaced.
• Disaster-related internal displacement has been recorded in 130 countries.
• The report also suggested the ways to resolve the issue of internal displacement.

Topic: Important Days

14. World Soil Day: 5 December

• World Soil Day is observed every year on 5 December.
• 'Soils: Where food begins' is the theme of World Soil Day 2022.
• World Soil Day’s main aim is to spread awareness about the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems.
• The first official World Soil Day was celebrated in 2014. In 2013, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 5 December as World Soil Day.
• It is observed to bring attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate the sustainable management of soil resources.
• Soil supports life on earth by providing essential nutrients to plants. It reduces climate change by increasing soil organic carbon.